Homeward Bound
by Jay08
Summary: The lone Wanderer races back to Vault 101 after receiving a signal from Amata. After all he has been through he feels like things might finally be looking up, and maybe he can go home and be around those who loved him. However, James Junior is in for more than a big surprise when he walks the hallway of his youth again as a Wasterlander.(Big thanks to DevArt user VAELJ for his pic)
1. Chapter 1

A tongue trailed across his face, waking the Lone Wanderer up from a deep sleep. Dogmeat sat in front of him panting, tongue hanging out of his mouth. Checking his pip-boy, James Jr. saw that it was 4 am and he had only been asleep two hours.

"Dogmeat….Buddy what you want?" James groaned as he talked to the dog with his eyes half open.

Dogmeat barked at him and continued to stare at his loving master and friend. James remained motionless staring at the dog with the same expression of exhaustion. He rolled around, turning his back to the pet he had met long ago, assuming he just wanted to show affection. The dog barked again and again in order to gain his attention. Finally reaching an end to his patience, the lone Wanderer sat up and shouted at his loyal companion.

"WHAT DOGMEAT!? WHAT DO YOU WANT?!" he had screamed looking at Dogmeat.

The dog started to whimper at the sight of his angered master. The lone wanderer felt like he had just beat the poor thing around his cosy little shack with a nail board. That look always melted James' heart and caused him to feel worse for what he had just done to his dog. He sighed and looked at his Pip-boy with regret, searching for something to cheer the poor thing up. Maybe Three Dog was on and he could play something that would make them both feel better. Upon switching stations, the radio let out a faint yet familiar voice to James' ears. It was a voice he hadn't heard in more than a year and from a person he had not thought about for some time now.

"It feels like you left home a long time ago, but I know you're still out there. I just hope you're still alive to hear this."

The voice rang out in James Jr. mind as he heard the woman speak over his pip-boy. A smile spread across the face of the Lone wanderer as he listened contently to his old friend's message.

"Things got worse after you left. My father's gone mad with power. If you can hear this, please stop looking for your dad and help stop mine."

Having heard this, James Jr. dashed over to the filing cabinet where all his clothes were. Pulling out a vault 101 jumpsuit he began putting it on. The message repeated as he got dressed in his old vault jumpsuit. Then a thought came across the young man's mind.

"What if they are going to shoot on sight? I doubt I have changed that much that the security team have just forgot about me." He thought as he began to come up with a plan.

He then remembered he had a vault 101 security set from his escape and he knew the one person in town that owed him a favour and was surprisingly trustworthy. Grabbing the old security armour he ran out of his house into the town of Megaton. The night sky peered down on him like it had the first night he left the Vault and Amata. He came to his neighbour's door and knocked on it impatiently. When no answer came he decided to bang on the door louder.

"Lucy West could probably hear this down in her house." He thought as the door was pulled open by a very angry looking individual.

"The fuck you want Kid?!" Jericho shouted at James smelling of booze.

"I'm calling in a favour old man." James said with the same devilish grin Jericho knew meant there was something he wasn't going to like about this trip.

"What fucking time do you call this kid?" Jericho asked.

"Look this is important to me and if it goes wrong you get to kill a few vault dwellers." James said as he looked at the old raider.

"Where we going?" Jericho asked as he swung his shotgun over his shoulder.

"I changed the door password to my name. If you're hearing this, and you still care enough to help me, you should remember it."

"Home…"

Jericho did very little on the walk to the door besides complain about various things. For a badass he did as much talking and bitching as he did shooting, which considering was a lot. However, James saw Jericho as a form inspiration for James. Yes his father will always be the Lone Wanderer's role model,but having lived in the wastes for a year and a half had put things into perspective for the young man. He realised that Jericho had survived this long out in the waists and with raiders of all people. If James had any wish it would be to live as long as the old raider had so he could continue doing his good work throughout the wasteland. Besides, James found Jericho to be good company even with his bad attitude.

Dogmeat on the other hand didn't like Jericho. Maybe it was the fact that he was a former raider or that Jericho talked down to Dogmeats master, but every time James brought them along together there was always someone complaining about the other.

"Why we bringing this fucking dog?" Jericho asked causing Dogmeat to growl at him.

"We need a guard." James said smiling down and his loyal friend.

"Wait…the fuck am I here for then?" Jericho asked stopping in his tracks.

"I need you for when we get into Vault 101." James said smiling at his plan.

"What so special about that place anyways? Thought they chased you out of that hole when your Dad left?" Jericho asked causing the group to stop to a halt.

James had not thought about his father for some time. That's to say he thought of him a lot at first but then he began to accept that his father was gone. Now it was nothing but a painful memory to James and he wished he could both forget and remember the sight of his father dying behind that door.

"Jericho it isn't what they did to me. Yes they treated me like an animal and bullied me and showed me nothing but contempt while I was there. But there was one person who showed me everything I needed." James said smiling as his memories of his time with Amata came back to him.

"Ooooh so little 101 had himself a girlfriend." Jericho said resting his arm on James' shoulder, like the fathers in those Pre-war posters.

"Yeah… 'Had' being the operative word. Things have changed now. I've changed" James said as he looked towards Jericho's grin, not liking it one bit.

"So how was she in bed?" Jericho said smiling perversely.

"Go fuck yourself." James said moving forward toward the vault.

"Oh come on kid. Cant ya take a little teasing?" Jericho shouted after the Lone Wanderer.

There it was. The door to Vault 101. James took a deep breath as they approached it and with authority told Dogmeat to guard his bag as he unpacked the security armour of Vault 101. The sun was only now beginning to rise which made both the Wastelander and the former raider remember just how tired they were.

"So what's this great fucking plan ya got kid?" Jericho asked.

"We walk in,see what's wrong, and then come up with a plan. Then fix it." James said to Jericho with a confident smile.

"Yeah that's great and all, but don't they have like security? How are we gonna get past those assholes?" Jericho asked as Dogmeat began to growl and bare his fangs at Jericho.

"Simple. You dress up as a Security officer. And "escort" a prisoner to his cell." James said throwing the security armour at Jericho.

"What about my gun? I mean you didn't exactly come out with a semi-automatic did ya?" Jericho pointed out as he looked at the security armour he was supposed to wear.

"Vault Security only carry 10mm pistols and batons. But that's not to say a 'confiscated' weapon can't be carried around while keeping a prisoner." James said smiling at Jericho.

"This is a fucking stupid plan you know?" Jericho said as he put on the Security armour.

"I know." James agreed as he handed Jericho the helmet.

"Boy you stay here. I'll be back as soon as I can." James said to his dog rubbing the animals head for assurance.

Taking a deep and heavy breath, James walked up to the door and took hold of the handle. Jericho walked up behind him and waited for the Lone Wanderer to step through the doorway. Was he really ready for this? Maybe more planning should have been put into this. So many emotions flowed through James body at this moment. The man who had killed mutants, survived the monsters of point lookout, killed 3 Behemoths, as well as clawed his way out of the Pitt, was now shaking at the idea of opening a door to his past. Hearing Jericho's impatience, the lone wanderer gave one strong push and into the cave he went.


	2. Chapter 2

James quickly stepped through the doorway into the old cave, only to see it hadn't changed as much as he had believed. Maybe it was his time in the wasteland, exploring caverns and towns full of monsters and ghouls that made him believe that he was entering a place similar to that of Vault 106. The things that happened to him in 106 were monstrous and traumatic. He hated the thought of having to return to such a place ever again and also hated himself for recalling such events. As he stepped closer to the big Cog shaped door, memories of his youth came back to him. Things he had not thought about in years or had just forgotten, started to return to him the closer he got to the door.

He remembered his first day of school. The intimidation he felt about being away from home and his father caused him to be a very shy child, despite his father only being down the hall. Amata was the only one there that he would usually hang out with, and he had intended to sit next to her were it not for Susie who stated the seat was a "No boy zone". James was forced to take the seat near the back of the classroom next to Butch. James began talking to Butch and they bonded over the fact that both only had one parent. They became blood brothers later that day. The memory of a friendship with Butch seemed strange to him, but at least it meant Butch wasn't always a tool.

"Hey kid." Jericho said snapping James out of his trip down memory lane.

"Huh? Yeah Jericho?" James asked looking back towards Jericho, who was now wearing the Vault 101 helmet.

"You know how to open this thing?" Jericho asked tapping his fist on the huge cog door.

"It's not my first time. I have done this before." James said irritated at Jericho's ignorance.

"I wonder how many times Nova's heard that?" Jericho said as he started laughing.

James though appearing unimpressed, gave a soft chuckle at the joke. James stared at the name for what seemed like only seconds as his mind wandered.

"_**A.M.A.T.A"**_

He smiled as more memories came back to him about his days in Vault 101.

He remembered when he was eight and he, Amata, and Butch all were playing "Vault quarters" together. James was usually the Doctor, Butch would be the security guard or the hairdresser, but Amata was always the Overseer. Wally Mack decided to come over this day and make fun of the three friends for his own amusement. Not taking his shit anymore, Butch stood up and punched him in the jaw. Butch became the toughest kid in the vault after that. Now when James, Butch and Jim played Grognak, Butch was always Grognak.

Despite how things turned out, James smiled at the image of three kids playing in the cafeteria. Losing his tooth when he was the Man-saurian during a game of Grognak. Having his first kiss with Amata out of a dare with Butch and Jim. James had not thought of these memories in years yet alone when he was still in the Vault. James felt like he was remembering something out of a book he read once, all these memories felt like they didn't belong to the man he had become.

Jericho, on the other hand, was not experiencing the nostalgia that the Lone Wanderer was and started to become impatient.

"Hey Fucko! We going in or staring at a fucking door all day with our thumbs up our asses'? This suits beginning to itch." Jericho complained in irritated fashion.

The Lone wanderer entered the password and the loud familiar screech echoed through the caverns. Jericho was trying to say something, but whatever it was had been drowned out by the screech of the door. Most likely he was complaining about the noise the door was making. James stood there, staring and wondering if he was still asleep and dreaming or was this actually happening. The door rolled to the side revealing to them the entryway to Vault 101. Taking a deep sigh, James moved in front of the doorway and took a step into Vault 101. Pulling out a red baseball cap and putting it on his head, he turned around to Jericho and smiled.

"You coming old man?" He asked with a childish grin across his face.

"Shut up kid." Jericho said with a grin behind the visor.

The vault wasn't how he left it. Of course it wasn't in great condition, but to James' relief it wasn't in the chaos he had left it in. This feeling was short lived, as he soon noticed a limp arm hanging from the vaults door console.

"Shit!" He exclaimed.

The Lone Wanderer ran over to the body and examined it. Realising it was the body of Jim Wilkins, James' expression suddenly turned more worried.

"God Damn it." James said in a saddened tone

"Kid, what's wrong?" Jericho asked as he walked over to the steps.

"I knew this guy Jericho. He didn't deserve to die." The Lone Wanderer answered placing his hand over the eyes of the dead Jim Wilkins, closing them.

"What the fuck were you trying Jim?" James whispered to the corpse.

He didn't deserve this. Jim was given the job of medical advisor on the G.O.A.T and was going to help everyone in the Vault. James felt that he was responsible for the premature death of his old friend as a result of his leaving. James was also sure this was how Janice and their father Officer Wilkins felt about him now as well. His mind suddenly flooded with memories of all the innocent people in the wasteland and now here that had died because of his actions, whether they were right or wrong. He looked across the chamber to see that the way he took to escape the first time was now blocked. They were going to have to take the long way around.

"So what happens if someone sees us or we meet someone who recognises ya and could rat you out?" Jericho asked James who was staring at the dead body.

"You just act how you think these assholes would act." James answered in anger as he rose from the ground.

"Beat ya with the Baton until you're as soft as Gob!" Jericho said pulling out the baton.

"Close enough." James said not wanting to argue.

"Let's move." James said as he walked over to the door leading into the vault.

"Stop right there!" The vault security guard barked as the door opened.

"Ah…shit." The lone wanderer said in defeat raising his hands.

"You were right kid! This plan was fucking fool proof!" Jericho chuckled as he reached down towards his concealed knife.

"Shut up Jericho" The Wanderer grunted as he looked at the officer.

"I don't know how you got in here, but... Hold on…..James?" He said in confusion and pulling off his helmet Officer Gomez revealed himself.

"Officer Gomez!" James exclaimed with a smile as he took a step forward towards Gomez.

"What the hell are you doing back here kid?!" he asked halting james as he was sounding less like himself and more like Officer Kendall.

"I came back to help." James answered pulling the cap off his head and revealing his face.

Gomez stared at the face of the once innocent vault resident in shock. The once youthful clean shaven face that always bore a smile, had now become a scarred face that had seen its fair share of combat. James saw the look Gomez was giving him and felt a little ashamed of his appearance now. Of all the people of the Vault that would judge him, he had hoped for a certain few who would just be happy to see him.

"I brought help….." James said in an ashamed low tone, turning to Jericho who looked a little impatient.

"His name is Jericho…Don't worry! He won't do anything, I swear!" James explained trying to make Officer Gomez more relaxed around the former raider.

"You brought someone?! Do you have any idea how dangerous that is!?" He blurted out as if he was talking to a kid. James didn't appreciate that.

"Officer Gomez! In case you haven't noticed Jim Wilkins is dead, the Vault is in chaos, and I am offering to help you clean up this mess!" James shouted as he aggressively stepped forward.

"Son where's your father? He might be able to talk some sense into you." Gomez asked sighing in an attempt to calm down James.

James stopped and hung his head in shame. His father didn't agree with a lot of the choices he made in his time in the wasteland, but his father never seemed ashamed of his son. He said to James that everyone has the ability to change who they are for the better, and he understood that his son had to do what he had to do to survive in the wasteland. The Lone Wanderer missed his father so much. The wanderer could feel a hand pat his back. This was a rare action for Jericho. He had not shown much concern in their time together, but when he did it was usually the right thing to do at the right moment.

"Um…James?" Gomez asked concerned.

"Kid's Dad is dead man." Jericho said coldly but honestly.

"What?! James is that true?" Gomez asked in a shocked manner.

"Yeah. He's dead Gomez…." James responded sadly.

"Kid saw it happen. Right in front of him." Jericho stated to Officer Gomez.

"Can it Jericho!" James barked at his friend.

"Oh…I'm sorry son. He was a good man. Always had the best intentions for everyone in the Vault." Gomez said regretting asking.

"I am not here to talk about him. I'm here to help Amata." The Lone Wanderer said holding back the urge to talk to someone about his father.

"Yeah! So, way I see it you're our hostage now!" Jericho said with a grin.

"What?!" Gomez asked gripping his weapon slowly.

"He's kidding Gomez. But can you not tell anyone I am here. I need to get to Amata fast." James said nervously, hoping he was right about that.

"She's with the rebels." Gomez said bluntly.

"Rebels?" James asked confused at the term 'Rebel' being used in Vault 101.

"Now we're fucking talking!" Jericho enthusiastically said.

"Just follow me." Gomez said as he walked ahead.

Putting his cap back on James followed Officer Gomez back into the Vault.


	3. Chapter 3

**So this chapter is a little longer than the others because I got way too into writing it and then had to edit a majority of it. Enjoy the finished product.**

* * *

James put his cap back on, and along with Jericho followed Officer Gomez into the next hallway. The vault no longer had the clean home like feeling that James grew up with. His time in the wasteland had changed him from the boy he used to be, into the man he was. He remembered how blinding the sun was when he first stepped out of the vault and how he sat down outside the door and cried. He had hoped it had all been a dream, and he was going to wake up any minute to his old boring life. He never woke up though.

"Hey. James?" Gomez said with concern snapping James out of his sad memory.

"Hmm? Yeah Gomez?" James answered looking at the officer who still showed fear when he saw the young man's face.

"Have you a better disguise than that cap?" He asked.

"No…No sir." James answered in his old 101 tone.

Jericho wasn't impressed. The kid was one of the toughest bastards he had ever seen, and Jericho had seen some brutal S.O.B's in his time. He once saw James knock a B.O.S paladin out cold with a single punch and then proceeded to challenge any one of the other pricks to try and fight him. Yet here he was taking orders from someone who wouldn't last a day in the Wastes. Looking to his right, Jericho saw a med kit, and something came to mind.

"I gotz an idea." Jericho said remembering a trick him and his raider pals used to pull on caravans.

"Oh this is going to be good." James said with a smile.

"The Dc-Decoy!" He said returning James's smile.

"The what?" Gomez said confused looking at James and Jericho.

"Yeah, what's the Dc-Decoy, Jericho?" James asked as confused as Gomez.

"An old trick me and some of the boys used to pull, back in the old days." He explained as he gripped James's vault suit.

"What are you doing?" James asked as Jericho pulled out his knife and began to tear into the vault suit.

"Hey!" James announced as his only vault suit was ripped.

"Wa-Wa! Shut the fuck up for a minute." Jericho said mimicking a crying child,

"See people don't trust a face they can't recognise, but if two people are carrying a wounded man…" He trailed off smiling at James.

"Ahhhh…" James said with that devilish grin of his.

"What?" Gomez said confused and watching the two waste landers.

"Go-Nez! Grab some bandages and a Blood pack from that first aid kit." Jericho ordered the confused man.

Gomez opened the med-kit and slowly handed Jericho two rolls of bandages and a blood pack. He began to wrap bandages around James's head, with all the delicate concern of a supermutant.

"Fuck Jericho!" James shouted in pain.

"See if we wrap some bandages around the kids head. Then we add this..." Jericho paused as he poured half the blood pack on James's head.

"Not so fucking much, man!" James said in anger as blood poured onto him.

"Now we add the last layer of bandage and clean up the remaining blood." Jericho said ignoring James and applying the last of the bandages.

Half of James's face was covered in bandages and the taste of blood was in his mouth. One eye was covered and tuffs of his brown hair were poking out of the bandages. He spat the blood out of his mouth and looked towards the older men.

"How's it look?" He asked looking at the faces of the older men.

"Like shit. Now Go-Nez…"

"Gomez. My name is Gomez." Officer Gomez said interrupting Jericho.

"Like I give a fuck!" Jericho mocked, showing little to no respect for Gomez.

"Hey, screw you! I don't need to take this from the likes of you!" Gomez shouted at Jericho in his authoritative tone.

"How's about I crack your skull open and see if you're an actual shit head!" Jericho threatened Gomez, as he stepped closer to the Vault officer.

"Gomez…Listen to Jericho. He may be an asshole, but this man has seen the worst and survived." James shouted as he got between the two men.

"Now! Are you bringing me to the damn rebels or did I put all this shit on my head for decoration?" James asked Gomez taking control of the situation.

Gomez led the way once again, as the lone wanderer started to act like he was seriously wounded. Wrapping his arm around the back of Jericho's neck, he began to groan and moan every few minutes to sell the act.

Entering the Atrium, James was shocked to see all that had changed since he left. There, in front of the doors, was a blockade made out of various vault furniture and guarded by Officer Taylor.

"Hey, its officer Taylor. I thought he retired." James Whispered to Gomez and the uninterested Jericho.

"Some folks can never retire son." Gomez answered silently.

"Ain't that the fucken truth!" Jericho added with a snicker.

James looked around the area and saw someone had painted over a poster that now read "FUCK YOU Overseer". James held back laughter as he stared at the poster.

"Shhhh!" Gomez said as movement was seen coming from one of the doors.

Suddenly someone ran into the atrium, and stood just across from the barricade. Recognising him instantly, James watched as Freddie Gomez stood in front of the barricade. He looked exactly the way he did the night James escaped. His leather jacket, with the words 'Tunnel Snakes' on the back of it, was worn over the standard vault suit and his hair was slicked back as it had been since he was twelve. Freddie Gomez had not changed. There was a distinct look of worry over the face of Officer Gomez, like something was about to go horribly wrong.

"Stop!" Officer Taylor shouted as the Tunnel snake approached.

"That's it, old Man! We're opening that door and to hell with the Overseer's rules!" Freddie's said confidently.

"Well, looks like Freddie finally grew a pair." James whispered with a snigger, only to be met with a harsh glance by Freddie's father.

"Sorry…" James said regrettably as they continued to watch.

"You know I can't do that, Freddie. Now get back down below, before I have to do something we'll both regret." Officer Taylor warned raising the gun to Freddie.

"Just do as he says son…." Officer Gomez begged silently.

James, upon hearing Gomez's words, thought about his own father. The sad truth was, that James still believed he could have saved his father if he had tried harder. He blamed himself for his father's death and he knew that no amount of Booze, or good deeds, would ever bring back the one person that didn't deserve death. He shook off the bad memories as Freddie Gomez stepped closer to the barricade.

"I'm warning you Freddie!" Taylor threatened.

"What, you're gonna lock me up like you did to Brotch? You can't cage a tunnel snake, man! Because we rule!" Freddie announced as he approached Taylor.

James gave a soft chuckle at this statement.

"Stay back!" Taylor shouted as he fired his weapon barely missing Taylor.

"HOLY SHIT!" James said shocked as Freddie ran away.

Gomez marched over to Taylor and grabbed him by the collar of his security uniform. Taylor was rather surprised to see Gomez, but was even more shocked at the officers' actions to an elder.

"The hell were you thinking Taylor!" Gomez asked shaking the old man with great force.

"That was my son!" Gomez barked at the elderly gentleman.

"I am sorry Herman! But he was about to attack me!" Taylor panicked, making excuses.

"You bastard! Don't you dare lie to me! I saw the whole thing, Taylor!" He said through his teeth pointing towards the entryway.

"What were you doing there?" Taylor asked suspicious.

Gomez stayed silent and looking guilty. He didn't know what to say to that kind of question. James acted fast and threw himself on the floor within view of the two officers.

"OOoooh Officer Gomez…Are we *Cough* nearly there?" James said weakly, trying to act in need of medical treatment.

"Office-ah we gotta get this guy to the Docs!" Jericho said trying to draw attention away from Taylor's question.

"Right away. Look Taylor, I will deal with you later, but right now I have to get this Vault loyalist to the medical ward." Gomez said as he walked towards Jericho and James.

Lifting James up off the ground, he began carrying James towards the living quarters.

"What did he say about Brotch?" James asked whispering to Gomez.

"He was arrested for conspiracy…" Gomez said lamentably.

"Shit…when did it get so bad down here?" James asked worried about his old home.

"About two months after you left. Half the kids wanted to leave the vault and when they were told they couldn't do that ,things went to hell. So it's been like a civil war down here…" Gomez explained as they approached the door to the living quarters.

"Good luck James." Gomez said as he left the two at the door and walked away.

"You sure about this kid?" Jericho asked as they stepped down the stairs towards the living quarters.

"Have I ever let you down?" James asked through a fake smile.

"Every time you fucking say that, kid." Jericho said with a laugh.

"And we always have fun." James said with a chuckle as they approached the door and opened it.

"Fuck yeah we do!" Jericho said with enthusiasm.

James was lucky that he had arrived so early in the morning, as almost every other person in the vault was asleep. He and Jericho managed to traverse the old Hallways without any confrontation or trouble. As the two approached the stairs, the sound of a child crying from the above floor could be heard. Silently, they crept up the stairs. James leaned around the corner and saw a woman trying to hush a woken child. James and Jericho moved quickly down the hall towards the clinic, avoiding the mother's sight.

Entering the clinic quietly, they were greeted by the image of several sleeping vault residents. James slowly snuck around the bodies and got to the door to his father's old office.

"Jericho…. Stand guard out here." James said coldly and quietly.

"You got it kid." Jericho answered gripping his shotgun.

"You know….If this goes badly…." James started as he felt like he was about to arm wrestle a mutant overlord.

"Kid if this goes badly, I'm going out killing. You're fucked." Jericho said with a grin.

"I guess so." James chuckled as he patted the raider on the back.

James opened the door to his father's office and was greeted by the most frightening thing he had ever seen.

"Good evening Sir!" Andy announced as loud as he could.

A maintenance bot working as a doctor. Andy was a good maintenance bot, but memories of James's tenth birthday party and his cake proved that Andy wasn't much good at simple tasks outside of maintenance.

"Jesus fucking Christ Andy. Keep it down!" James said as he looked at the Blood covered robot.

"Voice recognition confirmed." Andy said in his robotic tone.

"Master James Jr. How may I serve you today?" Andy asked in a cheerful manner.

"You may get the fuck out Andy! And keep it down!" James said in aggression as Andy floated there.

"I am sorry to say only someone of higher authority can tell me to leave sir." He said as James sat against the table.

"Look up my G.O.A.T results…..."James said on a gamble, having completely forgotten his G.O.A.T results.

"Confirmation sir! I shall proceed to leave immediately." The robotic mechanic said as he floated out of the room.

Watching Andy leave, he knew he would be the luckiest asshole in the world if the people in the next room were still asleep. James looked around the office that once belonged to his father. It seemed smaller than he remembered. He began to unwrap the bandages that covered his head. As the bandages fell from his face on to the table, James ran his hand through his hair. The blood was still wet and rubbed off on his hand. He rubbed his wet hand on to his vault suit, and continued to look around the office. Then from the corner of his eye, James saw the framed Bible verse his father had kept all those years. It was in the exact same spot as he remembered:

'_Revelation 21:6. I am Alpha and Omega. The beginning... and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life, freely.'_

It was his mother's favourite verse, and his father's last link to the woman he lost. But there was something strange about it. It looked like something was behind the framed picture. Behind the picture was a safe, which James presumed was used by his father. The only problem was it was locked by a three digit code. However, James knew the code. James typed in the code 2-1-6 and the safe opened. Looking inside the safe, he found a map, an empty revolver and a holodisk recording. He pushed the disc into his pip-boy and began to play his father's message. Unzipping his vault suit and tying the sleeves around his waist, he stood there in a tank top and listened.

"_**Well, here we are. Nestled all safe and snug inside Vault 101. It's so cold down here. Colder still with Catherine gone...**_

_**Oh, Catherine... I so wish you were here with me. How the hell am I supposed to do this by myself? Live down in this hole. Take care of our child...**_

_**But this is our life now, so I guess I'd better get used to it. The Overseer who runs the place is an overbearing bully, but I've dealt with worse."**_

Within one holodisk, James realised his father had sacrificed everything for his sons survival. He had given up freedom, so James could be raised in 101. He had given up love, so James could be born, and he had given up life so James would survive. His father had never resented James, even after all the wrong the Lone wanderer had done in the wastes. His father was not without his faults, but he was closer to perfection than James ever could hope to be. James did not know what to say to this, his father's last recording, but all he felt like he could do was cry.

James's tears stopped eventually, but that was only due to the fact the Lone Wanderer forced himself to stop. It wasn't easy, but he couldn't let anyone see him crying. Especially Jericho, who would never let him forget it. He still hadn't let James forget the time he got drunk and pissed off the top of rivet city, five months ago.

"Something wrong Kid?" Jericho asked having opened the door to the office.

"Nothing..." James said coldly as he snuffled, trying to hide any trace of his crying.

"Sir?" the familiar voice said cautiously as footsteps entered the office.

James turned his head to see the face that had brought him to the vault. The face that catapulted him out of his bed in megaton and drove him back to the vault. Amata was standing there and the sight of James caused her face to light up. James stood up straight and began to push his hair down. She timidly approached James as Jericho let her in.

"It's really you…" She said with a smile as she rested her hand across his cheek.

"Who else would it be?" James asked proudly.

"This, your old 'Friend'?" Jericho said with a wink, emphasizing friend.

"Jericho. Can we have a minute?" James asked, not taking his eyes off of his old friends smile.

Jericho smiled perversely at the young couple from the doorway.

"Jericho…Close the door." James said frustrated at Jericho's ogling.

"Go get her Cowboy." Jericho chuckled as he closed the door behind him leaving the childhood friends alone together.

Amata stared in silence at James, and James stared in silence at Amata. It was at this moment, that Amata realised she still had her hand on James's face. She quickly pulled it away,and leaned her head into his chest blushing. James wrapped his arms around Amata, pulling her closer to his body. Then looking up to his face, she saw his scars and backed away a little. Amata pushed James's chest, breaking their hug.

"How did you get those scars?" She asked as she looked at her old friend's face.

"Surviving." He said coldly and blankly at Amata.

James's greatest fear about returning had been achieved. She no longer saw him as a man, but rather a monster. He turned away from her and slammed his fist against the wall in anger. She worried that this was not the boy she had played with in her youth, and had shared her first kiss with. She had found out too late, that the feelings she had for the lone wanderer were much stronger than mere friendship. He returned facing her a moment later, with a saddened look on his face.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you JJ." She said looking him in his warm green eyes.

"You could never offend me Amata." He said lying, a smile crossing his face.

"Ditto." She said returning James's smile.

Amata couldn't take the tension in the air any longer and decided she had to do something. Before he could say anything else, Amata pulled his head towards her own and kissed him. Her soft lips pressed against his own as she wrapped her arms around his neck. James, shocked, returned her kiss and wrapping his arms around her slender waist, pulled their bodies closer to one another for a second time.


	4. Chapter 4

**A.N: I would just like to say thanks for the support for this story and your patience. I honestly didn't think I would have time for this update, but thankfully I was wrong. Now this chapter is more James and Amata than anything else. It also expresses the reason as to how James Jr. was able to dismantle the Megaton Bomb. Anyway's, there is swearing, scenes of a Teenage variety, hints at intercourse and the mention of DeathClaws Humping. Also, I think I'm going to look into getting a cover for the story. Enjoy and R/R.**

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James felt amazing. It was as if all his troubles had melted away from him. All the pain, all the anger, all the sadness, all of the wounds that the wasteland had inflicted on him, seemed to fade away into oblivion as James shared breath with Amata. Pulling away for fresh breath, she looked at James with her eyes half open and took deep breaths.

"You okay?" James asked with a smile crossing his face.

Her body shivered, as he held her in his arms. She felt her body heat up, like the temperature system of the office was malfunctioning. She slowly unlinked her hands from around James's neck and proceeded to run them down his chest.

"Was he always this tall?" She found herself asking as her hands pressed against his torso.

It was at this moment she realised that she hadn't said anything to him since the kiss was broken. Embarrassed, she dug her head into his chest and remained silent. It took all her willpower not to push away from him again and change the subject.

"I am such an idiot." Amata thought as her face glowed bright red and she began to hug him again.

Her embarrassment soon subsided as she rested her head on his rising chest and listened to his heartbeat. Raising her face to meet his own, she welcomed his smile with a shorter kiss. He looked pretty tired. She, herself, was awoken by Andy's alerted voice, and found the sight of the Vault 101 officer standing outside of the office suspicious. But, even she couldn't have realised that the person behind the office door was her old friend JJ.

"Ummmm…" She said with a hint of shyness, a trait of hers she rarely showed.

"Yeah?" he asked smiling at Amata.

"How's your dad?" She asked coming up with the first thing she could think of.

The Lone wanderers face dropped in a second, and releasing Amata he walked across the office. He had forgotten about his father, his sacrifice, or why he was even here. He had become lost in the sight of Amata and reverted back to his old self.

"JJ?" she asked taking a step closer to him.

"You want me to help with what's going on down here…." He said in anger, not at Amata but at himself.

"Um… Yes. But maybe you should get some sleep first." Amata said concerned for the man before her.

"Yeah….But Jericho needs to rest first…" James said rubbing his eyes.

"Your friend can wait cant he?" Amata asked stepping closer to the Lone Wanderer.

"No, I mean I don't trust him awake without supervision." James said facing her and folded his arms.

As if he was listening in on their meeting (which would not surprise James in the slightest), Jericho walked into the office. He took his security helmet off, and a tired look now masked his face.

"Kid you finished here yet? I mean not even Gobs this slow." Jericho said rather crudely.

"Shut up Jericho!" James ordered his face burning red in embarrassment.

"What I say?" Jericho asked with his 'fuck you' smile.

Sighing, James pulled Jericho away from the doorway and peaked outside to see if anyone else was awake. People were reacting to the noise made, as some sat up and looked around in a tired gaze trying to find the source of the noise. Luckily they chalked it up to the clumsy maintenance bot who was floating around the clinic. Taking a deep breath, James walked back into the office that currently occupied an exile, a former raider and the future Overseer.

Checking his pip-boy, which was no longer the clean and polished accessory it once was, he saw that it was 7am.

"Jericho, do me a favour and get some sleep." The lone wanderer said rubbing his face.

"Whatever kid, just don't fuck around with them vaulties without me." Jericho said as he made himself comfortable on the ground.

Jericho quickly fell to sleep, and began snoring louder than two deathclaws in mating season. That of course, was not the image James wanted at this moment. Sighing he stepped towards the office exit, taking a deep breath as he opened the door. Amata was close behind him. He was taking a big risk doing this, stepping out into the open with no disguise. He was about to face a large group of Vaulties, half of which no doubt probably blamed him for all of this trouble. This wasn't the most dangerous situation he had ever gotten into, but it was no doubt the most stressful. Hell, James once had to sneak through an entire nest of Mirelurks. Why? A pretty face asked him to. And, like his father, the Lone Wanderer was a sucker for a pretty smile.

"What did he mean by Vaulties?" Amata whispered, as she followed James unaware of where he was going.

"Nothing…." James lied, as he approached a locked vault door.

"Anyone been in here since I left?" James asked.

Amata knew he was lying. No matter how much he had changed, he could still never lie to Amata.

"I'm not an idiot JJ. Vaultie is a derogatory term for people in the vault, isn't it?" She said with slight anger in her tone.

"Sharp as a Shishkebab Amata. As always." James said in a condescending tone and cheeky smile. His tiredness was starting to make him agitated.

"Is that what they call you outside?" She asked a little unimpressed with his tone.

"No…Not anymore." James said as he pushed in the password.

"Oh what then? Let me guess." Amata said in a teasing tone.

"They call me The Lone Wanderer." James answered in a bitter manner.

Amata suddenly grew silent, as she saw the broken look on her friends face.

"What had the wasteland done to him?" she found herself asking.

"Why do they call you that?" she hesitantly asked.

"Because I am alone. And don't bring it up again please." He said calmly, his voice full of sorrow.

James swiped an old key Card across the panel and the door slid open, much to the surprise of his companion. Inside was dimly lit, but what she could make out was a tool kit, various items were on the shelves, an old mattress and a workbench. It wasn't very clean, but it was cosy and secluded.

"What is this place?" Amata said nervously as James stepped past her.

"My old…" He trailed off for a moment, trying to remember the name Old Stanley had for it.

"'Tool shed' I think's what Stanley called it?" He said looking over the shelves, making sure everything was here.

Amata watched him in confusion. Remembering how clumsy he was when he was around her, she found it hard to believe he could be a handyman.

"You! Had a tool shed?" She said with a chuckle.

"Yeah!" he replied with a confused look on his face.

"Back when I lived here, if anything around the quarters was broken, it was up to Stanley to fix it. But the thing is, Stanley was usually in the clinic, and I didn't want to stress him out and make things worse. And when I did really need him, Jonas usually said he was too sick to be doing anything right now. So it was up to me to deal with my own problems. And that meant learning how to fix things." He stated looking at Amata.

"So, over time, I taught myself the ins and outs of maintenance, thanks to this little shed. Lucky for me, I am a pretty Swift Learner." He said with a cocky smile.

"But you were the clumsiest kid in the vault..." She said as she continued to chuckle.

"I wasn't….." He said quietly looking at Amata.

"Yes you were. You always tripped over yourself or dropped stuff by accident, when we hung out." Amata said her smile widening, as the memories came back to her.

"Actually, I was just nervous around you because I had such a huge crush on you…." James said bluntly, facing her as both of them began to blush.

Realising how silly they looked acting like this, James finally said something, after what felt like years.

"Are we really still acting like kids?" James said looking away from Amata.

"Yeah…I guess we are getting kind of old to be acting like this." Amata said following James's example.

"So do you-" Amata was hushed by James who placed his finger on her lips.

There was an echo of footsteps approaching the room from the hall. Two voices could be heard as the steps got louder and louder. James had to think of something fast, otherwise, he was going to be put to death by the Overseer, and James wasn't sure he was ready for that kind of commitment. All he could think of, though, was how beautiful Amata looked. Then, something came to the Lone Wanderers mind that he had seen on a Holofilm once. The guards were just a few feet away when James pulled Amata towards himself, turned his back to the doorway, and embraced Amata in another kiss. It was Amata, this time that had been caught off guard by her old friend's lips. Amata knew this was a way to avoid the guards discovering James had returned, but that didn't make this any less enjoyable for either of them. The footsteps had stopped at the doorway, but neither James, nor Amata halted this embrace. James had once again lost all of his troubles in Amata's soft kiss, while Amata just felt pleasure in having the man she loved and her friend back.

"Kids…. We are sorry to do this to you….but we need everyone back to their quarters." He said sounding guilty.

"Officer please…" James said putting on a fake voice, to which Amata giggled at.

"We are just trying to have a little fun." He continued as his hands ran down Amata's back.

Amata yelped a little, when she felt his hands on her ass. Amata was shocked at this action, and looked forward to paying James back for this little improvisation. Not that she minded, but he should have asked first.

"Ah hell. It's nice to see someone aint miserable these days. Just clean up after yourselves and close the door." The guard said and proceeded to walk away.

"Is he gone?" Amata whispered, gasping as James began to kiss her neck.

"Maybe, wait a little longer?" James argued as Amata let out a sincere giggle.

"Noooo." She lazily objected with a smile. Placing her hands on the sides of his head, she lifted his head away from her.

"What you're thinking….Yeah that's not gonna happen yet. Understand?" She asked with a smile across her face, her hair a mess from the entire act.

"I heard yet…" He said with a devilish smile as she escaped his embrace and walked towards the door.

"You hear what you wanna hear." She said with a wink, brushing some of her hair aside from her face.

"That I do." He said with a blushing smile.

"Now get some sleep, and I'll wake you later." She said confidently taking charge, starting to sound like her old self.

"Aye Aye." James said in a mock salute to her and closed the door.

James rubbed his lips and smiled as he thought about what just happened. He had to compose himself, and be very careful how he would react to this situation. He would be calm and cool and not compromise the reason they were there, which now dawned on him that he should have asked what she need him to do. Well this would be a disappointing moment if, he had not just kissed the girl he's had a crush on since he was thirteen.

"YES!" He shouted in joy, jumping into the air.

He felt like he could do anything. He felt like he could go up to a superhuman behomet, who was petting a large deathclaw, and challenge them both to a bare knuckle fight. He felt invincible! Laying back on the mattress, his mind raced with the possibilities' of the future. At first, the thought of returning scared him. He thought they needed him for a Supermutant invasion or something like that. Granted this was still a pretty big deal, but it was tame in comparison to what he expected of others.

"Maybe after I save the Vault, and finish with dads research I can come home?" He asked himself smiling.

He closed his eyes for a moment, and fell completely into sleep. He dreamt of her.


	5. Chapter 5

_**A/N: First off. I am sorry this is so late. I have had a lot on my plate as of recently and wanted to add so much to this story, that I wasnt happy until I had everything I wanted to involved. **_

_** Second. The story will not be updated next week, because it is linked with a one shot I am doing about Jericho and James's experience at Greyditch. It will be a long one shot, but also will explain some of the scars James has on his body. As well as explaining how I am implementing the perk system. By no means is this trying to hype up another story. I just felt that the story of Greyditch cannot be summed up in a few paragraphs. I do promise, However, that the story will be finished by the end of next week(hopefully) and Homeward Bound will continue. **_

_** Third. I worked long and hard on this chapter(not overreacting here). Having spent several hours of the last week writing and rewriting, reading and re-reading, to make sure it turned out just right, I have become drained. But, what I can take pleasure in is that feeling of satisfaction that I am proud of this chapter and hope you all enjoy it.**_

_**This chapter has more dark/mature themes (violence towards women and references to sex) than the former chapters. As usual there is plenty of swearing because...well I dont consider swearing something that makes something mature. Plus most of the crude behaviour and language is committed by Jericho and lets face it, thats just his character being him. **_

_**I particularly enjoyed writing the dialogue between Jericho and J.J in this one, as it was a lot of fun to write for an angry Jericho. I mean, how can you write anger for a character who swears constantly anyways? And how do you argue with a person like that?**_

_**So thanks for reading this and enjoy Chapter 5. If you could reveiw, that would be great(Read in Office Space's Bill Lumbergh's voice). Thanks and Enjoy.**_

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James slept restlessly, a trait that he had gained out in the wastes. James sprang to life, awakened by the sound of heavy banging on his door. His hand firmly gripped the blade he had concealed in his vault suit. Jericho had thought him that the second you let you guard down, you were as good as dead. He had become a light sleeper as result of this lesson, and it had saved his ass on more than one occasion. The banging was hurried and showed signs of panic, a sound that James was used to hearing. He got to his feet slowly and cautiously approached the door. Pushing his ear to the door, James placed his other hand on the empty pistol he found in his father's safe. Jericho had the 10 mm, the shotgun, and if he looked into the pouches of the security armour he was wearing he would find a variety of ammunition. James took a deep breath and opened the door. Swinging out in front of the entryway, he aimed the revolver towards his visitor.

"Whoa there!" The voice nervously shouted as he faced the revolver.

"Butch?" James said bewildered at the sight of his old bully.

"Holy shit! It's you!" Butch said only now realising that the gun was being held by the Lone Wanderer.

"The fuck are you doing here?" James asked holding the pistol steady at Butch's face.

"Amata sent me. We got a problem at the clinic ,and she told me that there was someone that could help in here." Butch explained, staring into the gun.

James remembered that there was one factor he had no control over, and the fear of that factor unsupervised scared him more than anything the vault could throw at him. Jericho was at the Clinic.

"Did Jericho get out!?" James asked finally lowering his weapon in concern.

"What? Who?" Butch said now confused.

"Never mind. Let's go." James said as he stepped out into the hallway.

James watched from a distance as a large crowd gathered outside the clinic. If it was Jericho, people would be running, swearing and laughter would fill the air, and there would be empty bottles being thrown around the place. Even Jericho at his most controlled, would still incite a riot of some kind. He must have still been asleep, which was not surprising to the Lone Wanderer as he knew that Jericho could sleep through a fire fight if he wanted to.

"What the hell are we doing man-" Butch started before James hushed him.

"Shhh!" He interrupted putting a finger to his lips.

James watched the group separate as a woman was pulled out of the clinic by her hair, and then thrown to the ground. The man doing this was Wally Mack, the kind of spoilt brat that made Jericho look pleasant. He had a baseball bat with him, but based on its appearance, he had yet to really use it on someone. It was clean, smooth, and looked like it was just out of the box. He probably used it to threaten folks around the vault, like the dickhead he was. Wally was always an asshole full of himself, and this showed anytime he opened his big mouth. His father was a harsh uncaring and stubborn man, who like his son, did not like James or his father. James remembered Wally's father shouting at him from behind the window of his quarters, the night James left the vault. He blamed the young man's father and the young man himself for all the problems that were at the time happening. James didn't stay too long to hear the ramblings of a man who would sooner teach his son how to hunt, than discipline him in ways that could benefit him.

"You want to leave, Susie?" Wally shouted at the girl, who James now realised was Wally's sister Susie Mack.

Though Susie never said a nice word to James, she didn't deserve this kind of treatment.

"You won't even fight back! Dad told us there is stuff out there that can kill you at a glance, and you think they are gonna stop, because you cry?" he mocked as he slapped his sister across the face.

"Wally Stop it!" Amata shouted from the crowd, clearly worried about the young girl.

Suddenly, Butch got to his feet and charged towards Mack. Mack quickly dodged, and intended to bring the tunnel snake to the ground with his new bat. Wally struck the side of Butch's face with the bat rather hard, and before he could say 'Tunnel Snakes Rule', Butch was in dreamland. The group were now all on the inside of the clinic, holding Amata back from Wally's 'family debate'. Wally put his bat away, and walked over to his sister.

"Wally! Stop it now!" Amata begged as James crept closer to Wally and yet out of the group's sight.

"Shut the fuck up!" Wally said as he marched into the clinic and pulled Amata out into the hallway.

"Look at what you have done to my sister!" Mack shouted as he gripped Amata's arm and pointed to his sobbing sister. James began to feel his anger bubble inside of him.

"Ouch! Wally! I didn't do anything! You hit her!" She shouted as she tried to get away.

The people in the crowd watched and waited, too scared to get involved. This wasn't surprising to James, as from the look of things everyone was tired, sick or just wanted this whole ordeal to be over. He had seen it before. Arefu, Canterbury Commons, and in Tenpenny Towers all came to his mind. All the residents were either too pig headed, too scared, or too weak to do anything to change the situation. Usually it was left up to some Lone Wanderer, to fix the problems of their communities.

"You! You made her join this stupid cause!" Wally shouted aggressively, being as big a bully as he ever was.

"Sorry to say Dad. You were wrong. Not everyone can change." James thought to himself as he watched Mack.

"She don't know shit about the wasteland!" He shouted at Amata, looking directly at his sister.

James remembered the night he escaped the vault, and the last time he watched instead of acting. He had seen a couple in the atrium, and they were plotting some kind of escape. They ran towards the security guard's, who opened fire on the young couple, killing them in the process. James always thought he could have done something to help them. Like, he could have distracted the guard's long enough for the couple to sneak past. But no. All he did was sit back and watch, scared and sweating in the entryway. He snuck around the armed guards and the bodies, but to this day remembered the looks on the couple's dead faces. He wasn't going to let that happen again.

"The fuck do you know?" James said loudly as he stood up from the ground and walked into the sight of the crowd, Amata, Susie, and Wally.

Gasps of shock could be heard from the crowd, as James came into view of his old Family. He saw the look of surprise on Wally's face and the look of horror on Susie's. One only saw the man and the other saw only the scars. Wally reached back for his bat. James, much to Wally's bad luck, noticed this and drew the revolver quickly. The gun was once again, facing a vault dweller.

"Ah-Uh-Uh! Answer my question." James mocked as he pointed the gun.

"What?" Mack asked now nervous about the gun facing him.

"The-Fuck-do… You-know...about the wastes!" James said slowly and with anger.

"I know tonnes about the wastes-"

"You ever been there?" James interrupted Mack with a curious look.

Mack paused for a moment.

"No, but-" Mack said in a defeated tone.

"Then shut the fuck up! You know fucking nothing!" James said in a condescending tone.

"I don't have to take this shit from a fucking exile, who probably doesn't have the balls to shoot that gun!" Mack said with a confident smile crossing his face.

"With that kind of attitude, you would die sooner than Susie out in the wastes. So, in fact, I'd be doing you a huge favour by killing you now!" James said with an evil grin crossing his face.

Gasps and whispers could now be heard from the crowd. A rather unsettling sound to James's ears.

"You're bluffing! You ain't ever killed shit!" Wally said as James pulled the hammer of the gun back.

"You wanna take that chance?" James asked with a cold stare.

Wally stopped dead in his tracks, as fear eclipsed his face. Everyone present, stared at the two men outside the clinic. James hated the look of fear on the face of each vault resident present, as it reminded him that, to them, he was no better than the Radroachs.

"Amata. Get Susie and Butch in the clinic. Oh and wake up my friend." James said with a smile.

Amata nodded and, along with some other vault residents, carried Butch and Susie into the clinic. James was more nervous than Wally was at this moment. If he pulled the trigger now, he would reveal that he was holding an empty gun and face the wrath of about 50 vault residents. He would just have to hope that he still had a good poker face. Lowering the gun, James decided he would talk to Wally and give him the option to walk away.

"Wally. You got three choices here." James said calmly as he stepped towards Wally.

"And they are?" Wally asked confidently.

"One. You walk away from this calmly, leave the rebels alone, and keep your hands to yourself. Everybody lives, nobody has to die. Capisce?" James asked using the word Jericho used when using 'Shotgun' diplomacy.

"What's two?" Mack said pulling his bat slightly out.

"You act like a dumbass and I have to put you down." James said with a condescending tone.

"Oh and what's three? I kill you and become a hero?" He asked ready to strike.

"No Wally. Him." James said nodding to someone behind Wally.

Wally spun around and came face to face with the butt of a shotgun, breaking Wally's nose in the process. Staggering back, James tripped him up and sent Wally to the ground very fast. Wally was paralyzed in fear, as the man who broke his nose looked down at him. James pulled a cigarette out of his pocket, lit it, and placing it in his mouth began to smoke it. Handing one to Jericho, he planted his boot on Wally's chest. Amata and the other residents were shocked to see what he had done, but Amata was more shocked that he had started smoking.

"See Wally. Here's the thing. My friend here. Kinda like a guardian angel, except he ain't a pussy." James stated blowing smoke into Wally's face.

"Now you're gonna walk away from this, and keep you're pretty little mouth shut. Otherwise Jericho will…" James stopped and looked towards Jericho.

"Ya know what? He tells it better. I'm gonna let him tell ya himself." James said with a smile as he raised his boot from Mack's chest.

Jericho, lifting Mack up by his collar and pushing him against the wall, began whispering into Mack's ear. Wally's face turned pure white, as Jericho pulled himself away from Mack with a smile. Jericho turned his head to meet James's entertained face. Amata, on the other Hand, felt as uneasy as Mack looked. She didn't like James's new friend, and she definitely didn't like the way he handled confrontation, effective as it was. She wondered, if the decision to contact James was the right one?

"James. I'll talk to the rest of the residents, and explain why you're here." Amata said nervously to James.

"Okay. Me and Jericho will stand guard." James said smiling as he exhaled more smoke.

Amata walked into the clinic and closed the door.

"Does he understand, Old man?" James asked smiling at Jericho.

"I don't know Kid! He hasn't said anything! Maybe I should give him a preview!" Jericho said with an evil grin on his face.

"I understand! Please let me go!" Wally Mack screamed as his body struggled to get free from Jericho's grip.

Just as Jericho let go of Mack's collar, Wally dashed down the hallway away from them. James approached the old Raider with a smile on his face. Jericho had always managed to surprise James, and this was one of the rare occasions where it was a pleasant surprise.

"I don't know what you said to him, but whatever it was, it worked. Good going." James said patting Jericho on the back.

"I think I made that pansy shit his pants!" Jericho said with a hearty laugh.

"You're shitting me!" James said, joining Jericho in laughter.

"Yeah! You want to know what I told him." Jericho asked turning to James.

"Hehe. No thanks man." James said with a soft chuckle.

As their laughter faded, Jericho turned to James with a serious look on his face.

"Okay kid. Enough pissing around. What do we do now?" Jericho asked the Lone wanderer.

"I have no idea. I guess we'll wait and see how the vaulties react to me being here." James answered calmly with a smile.

"And if they don't like it?" Jericho asked gripping his shotgun with a grin.

"We leave and let them deal with their own issues, I guess." James said, his smile erased from his face.

Jericho was disappointed at this answer. Nudging the Lone Wanderer, Jericho wanted an answer to the question he had been asking himself since their arrival.

"Why you acting all fucken merciful kid? Not like you to let some asshole live." Jericho asked as James flicked his cigarette away.

"This isn't the wastes, Jericho. It's the vault. It's different in here." James answered looking at the wall, and away from Jericho.

"What's the big deal? Me and you, kill hundreds of assholes just like him out in the wastes. We been in vaults like this one and killed chumps in suits like these ones!" Jericho said bringing attention to the Vault 101 Security armour he was wearing.

"So tell me. What the fuck, makes this little hole in the ground, any better from the other holes in the ground? What makes this one so different?" he asked in an irritated fashion as he looked at the Lone Wanderer.

James remained silent, looking down to the ground. Jericho pulled the lit cigarette from his lips and glared at James. James's silence was all Jericho needed, to come up with an answer himself.

"Oh... I see how it is. Its cuz you grew up with these fucks! So you feel like they shouldn't die or some bullshit, right? A 'don't shit on your own doorstep, but everyone else's is fine' kinda deal? Am I right?" Jericho said in an irritated fashion.

The Lone Wanderers silence stayed constant, as he realised Jericho was half right. James knew fully well what made this place different. Amata lived here. She wanted the best for the vault, and was trying to save it. And that was all the motivation he needed to want to save this place, despite its past actions towards him.

"We have to make a good impression here. You know, show them that there is hope for survival out there!" James responded sharply to a now angered Jericho.

"Kid! These assholes treated you and your dad like shit all your life. They kicked ya out when things went to hell, and then begged ya to come back! How can these fucks mean more to you, than the people out there! The people who actually fucking care about you and show it. Some fucking vault dweller means more to you than Mary, a woman who sets aside what spare supplies she has for you, cuz she thinks you might fucken need em! I mean, why the fuck did we even come here?! You should have just let these vaulties rot!" Jericho responded in anger towards the Lone Wanderer.

"Amata sent me a signal. I had to come back!" James stated truthfully, hoping Jericho would see reason.

Jericho looked at James for a moment and shook his head. Jericho began to chuckle a little at James. It was then revealed that this was the calm before the storm, as Jericho exploded in anger.

"You're fucking kidding me! That why your acting this way? Like a pussy! For pussy?" Jericho shouted, his echoes filling the halls.

"Kid there is more than one piece of tail out there to chase! You do know that, right? I mean not all of its clean, or willing, but it's out there! Hell, Lucy West would be open wide any hour of the day for you! If ya like bitch's in dark tunnels, there was that creepy one from those fucks in the subway station. There, was a prime fucking piece ready for ya! You think Vault Princess didn't get some while you were away?!" Jericho shouted as James tightened his fists at Jericho's comment.

"Probably was getting it every hour-"

"Shut up Jericho!" James shouted in anger, before Jericho aggressively grabbed him by the collar and pushed him against the wall.

"Or what?" Jericho asked through his teeth.

"Let go of me." James grunted and glared back at Jericho.

"You care more about a bunch of fucks who chased you out of your home, over people who gave you a home, fed you, and helped you. For someone so fucken smart, how do you not see how fucked that is?! Jericho asked slamming James's body against the wall.

"Fuck you!" James said pushing Jericho away from him.

Jericho punched James across the face, sending the Lone Wanderer to the ground quickly. James turned around and looked up at his companion.

"You fucking stay here. I'm splitting. Ya fucken vaultie…"Jericho said, then proceeded to spit on the ground in front of James.

"What did you call me?" James said in anger as he clinched his fists.

"A…fucken…Vaultie." Jericho said slowly, as James got up from the ground.

"That's right. Get up and take your fucken lumps!" Jericho taunted, as he threw his shotgun to the ground.

James charged at Jericho and struck him in the gut. He repeated his body blows two or three times, before Jericho grabbed the lone wanderer's hands and head-butted him. James staggered back and held his head before Jericho punched James once again across the face. Unlike the last time however, James didn't fall to the ground. He stood strong, and took another swing at Jericho. Missing Jericho, James received a continuous flurry of punches from the old raider. This time they targeted his face, gut and kidneys. James stood there trying to block as Jericho continued his assault.

"Come on kid! Were you always this much a wimp?" he mocked as he backed James against the cold steel wall.

Then out of nowhere, James swung his elbow and connected with Jericho's Jaw. Jericho was knocked back away from James, as the Lone Wanderer charged towards Jericho again. Punching Jericho in the face, he sent Jericho back a few more steps. Jericho swore incoherently, as James could see he had broken Jericho's nose. Blood ran freely from Jericho's nostrils. James watched as Jericho took control of the situation, trying to crack the bone back into place, causing him to scream in pain.

"FUCK!" Jericho shouted, fixing his nose.

"Shit man, you okay?" James said concerned for Jericho.

Jericho took this sign of concern as opportunity, and quickly he kneed James in the groin. Jericho had no issue with playing dirty. James groaned loudly in pain, as his whole body bent over. Jericho took a deep breath, and with a hard nudge, pushed James to the ground.

"What the fuck do you thinks gonna happen, after you help them?" Jericho asked breathing heavily.

"You think their gonna let you come back?! Kid. All they gotta do is stick on a radio, and hear all the shit you've done!" He said, leaning directly over James.

"They're never gonna let someone like that back!" Jericho said in anger.

"You can never come back!" Jericho said with a grin.

James, quickly as he could, raised his arm between Jericho's legs. His forearm connected with Jericho's testicles, sending a slightly milder form of his pain through Jericho.

"Oh! You dirty bastard!" Jericho groaned as he fell down next to James.

The two didn't speak, as they rolled around the floor and held their pained groins. James hated that Jericho was right. It was fucked that he cared so much about the residents of Vault 101, more than the people of the wastes. Granted, half the wasteland was populated with people or creatures ready to shoot him on site, but there were good people out there. How could one good person, overshadow that of an entire wasteland. All the anger disappeared from James's body as his mind pondered this and guilt set in. After this was over, he'd ask Amata to come with him to the wastes. However, first he would have to make peace with his friend and role model.

"This whole fucken thing started because of these people. You's get chased out of the vault by these assholes and come into Megaton and start a new life." Jericho said in a bitter tone.

"You come up to me one day asking for help. I tell you to fuck off, but you don't fuck off. You come back again later, after getting the house next to mine and ask me my fucken name!" Jericho continued a chuckle escaping James as he listened.

"Simms warned you, that I wasn't no "Neighbour" type. I was a raider that wanted to be left alone." Jericho continued as James looked at the old raider.

"What do you do? You come back and ask me these stupid questions about the fucken wastes! And I'm there like, this kids either really fucking dumb or got balls of steel." He explained as he looked over at James.

""Jericho…I'm sorry." James said through his deep breaths.

"Fuck yourself, kid!" Jericho responded, not sharing the same guilt.

"You don't have to be such a dick all the time, you know?" James said with a soft chuckle as he slowly got up.

"You don't always have to be such a pansy pain in the ass, but here we are!" Jericho said in his gruff voice.

The lone wanderer leaned against the wall and looked towards Jericho, as his body quickly returned to normal. Taking a deep breath, he walked over to Jericho and leaned down towards Jericho.

"You hit hard for an old man." James said, stretching his hand out to Jericho.

"You ain't so bad yourself, for a pampered brat." Jericho responded looking at the outstretched hand.

"Drinks on me, as soon as we get back to Megaton?" James asked.

"Yeah. Okay." Jericho said with a grin, taking James's hand.

A smile crossed the Lone wanderers face, as he lifted his companion up from the cold steel floor. James knew that Jericho was going to drink away all of his money, and he could live with that. There was now something else, which made the young man curious.

"So, which was I?" James asked Jericho in a curious manner.

"What?" Jericho asked raising an eyebrow to the question.

"Do I have balls of steel, or am I just stupid?" James asked.

"Neither. I think your fucken brain damaged kid. Nobody is that stupid." Jericho said with his fuck you grin, and then letting out a laugh, slapped James's back hard.

"You might be on to something there." James said smiling at his friend.

"But first, we deal with these Vaulties…. Right?" James asked raising his arm in the air.

He looked like he was arm wrestling a ghost. Jericho would never admit it, but the kid had grown on him in the time they had spent together. Moriarty once questioned Jericho's relationship with the kid. Jericho stated that the kid wasn't as bad as Moriarty had believed, that in fact the kid was almost a better shot than Jericho. When Moriarty claimed that Jericho could be going soft, Jericho broke each finger in the old man's right hand to prove him wrong. Simm's gave Jericho a warning about making a public scene like that, and not about the bodily harm he had done to Moriarty.

"Fuck it! Why not?" Jericho exclaimed, as he quickly gripped James's floating hand.

"Great!" James responded as he squeezed Jericho's hand.

The clinic door opened, as the two wastelanders who stood facing each other now turned towards the door. Amata stepped out of the clinic and looked towards the men.

"Okay. They're ready for you." She said with a nervous tone.

James nodded towards Jericho. Jericho knew this was going to end badly, but he did love to watch a crash in action.

The clinic fell silent as James and Jericho entered the room. The silent stares reminded him of a horror Holomovie he watched once, where the heroes were surrounded by the monsters and all the monsters did was stare. And much like this time, it was creepy as hell. This silence was soon broken by Susie who stood up, walked towards James and hugged him.

"Thank you." She said in tears, causing the crowd to disperse.

Susie let go of James, and wiping her nose on her sleeve walked towards Amata. A crowd began to form around the outsiders.

"Jesus fucking Christ…" Jericho muttered under his breath.

"Oh lighten up. What did you expect?" James whispered to Jericho.

"Something a little more fun than dealing with a bunch of pansies." Jericho said quietly, irritated at the attention.

"Get that pole out of your ass man." James said with a smile.

"Fuck you kid." Jericho responded with a scowl.

"What's it like out there?" Someone from the crowd asked catching James's attention.

"Yeah that's a good question!" Another voice said.

"Where did you get those scars?" A female voice said from the crowd.

James stood back a little, feeling somewhat exposed by these personal questions. He took a deep breath and looked over at Jericho, who now wore a cocky smile.

"One at a time please." James said with a false chuckle.

"Yeah, let the kid breathe!" Jericho said in sarcasm that was lost on the Vault dwellers.

"You must have a tonne of war stories huh?" Freddie Gomez said stepping out from the crowd.

"What ya mean?" James asked, with a concerned look.

"Man, with those scars? You gotta have seen a lot of action." Freddie said to an agreeing crowd.

"Um… I guess?" James said, looking back at Jericho.

"Tell us one then." Another voice from the crowd announced.

"Fine….Um..." James said, trying to think of a specific experience he could share that wouldn't traumatize the vault dwellers.

"Oh! So me and Jericho have to find a cyborg in Rivet city-"

"That's a boring fucking story kid!" Jericho interrupted, causing James to turn towards Jericho.

"They want a wastes story? Tell em about Arefu or Andale. No! Tell them about Greyditch!" Jericho announced with a smile.

"Jericho, I don't think they wanna hear that-"

"Why not? You think we can't handle it?" Freddie said in an offended tone.

"It's not that!" James said nervously.

"Then I'll tell it!" Jericho shouted with a grin.

"Don't you dare!" James shouted in anger, knowing Jericho wouldn't skip any detail.

"Then tell us the story!" Freddie shouted to a defeated James.

"Okay…." James said with a regretful sigh.

A lot happened at Greyditch, that James would much rather forget than re-live. However, his arm had been twisted, and he was now forced to tell the story of the Town of Ants.

"Okay then. I'll tell you the Greyditch story." James said to the people in the clinic, who were eager to listen.

"It was a few months back. Me and Jericho had been journeying for a month now...


	6. Chapter 6

******Authors Note-**

**Okay. I am really sorry that this is so damn late, but thanks to college and essay's I found that I have a distinct lack of time to write or read for pleasure. The story about Grayditch is also late, but the first chapter is up. It details ****the start of James Cole Junoir (JJ) and Jericho's companionship after the first month of travel. Also it is to explain why it took James so long to find his father, as well as his involvement in Moira's project. He has been to the Pitt, but not to Point lookout yet. Like Homeward Bound I have implemented some changes with this story, but it does play a huge part in the Lone Wanderers Maturity (At least in my timeline.) Check out: The Settlement Of Ants.**

******Now the Good news(hopefully)= ****Because of the great feed back Im getting from this story (Thank you all. By the way.) Im considering putting up some more tales with James and Jericho, that take place during certain quests in the storyline(with some changes by me.) Of course I dont think anyone wants to see the full story printed, so I am going to pick and choose quests from the main story, and the side quests (if desired I will even do the DLC, and they will vary in rating. I cant see the Pitt, Point Lookout, Mothership Zeta or Operation Anchorage being below a heavy T or light M.)**

**********(If you have an opinion or objection on the idea to make more little stories concerning these two say so or mail me)**

**********So ************once again I apologise for the wait and hope it was worth it. R&R**

* * *

James drew a breath, as he looked around the room at the faces of his old community.

"And that….was Grayditch." James lamented as he lowered his head, finishing the story.

"Did the kid ever find out?" Butch asked, having regained consciousness sometime around the start of the tale.

"No…" James answered, with regret.

"Doesn't he have the right to know?" Someone asked as James tightened his fists.

Bryan was happy now, that was all that mattered. If they didn't like the story, it was their own damn fault.

"You think so? You tell him." James snapped at the vault dweller.

Whispers of judgement began to echo from the group. This made James only somewhat nervous, as he was forced to tell them the story.

"Ungrateful bastards" was all James could think as they stared and whispered.

"The kid made a judgement call…" Jericho paused to take a long gulp from his beer.

The whole room fell silent, as Jericho drank his beer. Nobody wanted to mess with the same guy they had just heard ripped a fire breathing ant's antenna out, with his bare hands. James himself, was seen as a monster. They could see him as a monster now if they wanted, He didn't care. Telling that story, reminded him how much the wasteland needed people like James, and how dangerous it was to be out there. His attention now focused on Jericho, who had pulled the beer bottle from his lips.

"Gah! …Can't blame him for that!" Jericho announced resting the empty bottle on the floor, before letting out a loud burp.

"What about you!" Freddie Gomez announced.

"You talking to me pretty boy?" Jericho asked as he got to his feet.

"Yeah… Why didn't ya help Little Jay when he was burnt the first time?" Freddie Gomez asked, the only one now talking back to Jericho.

"First off… I was teaching the kid a lesson! Humping the ground, don't make it all better. Just getz your dick dirty." Jericho explained crudely, to the confused and offended vault dwellers.

"What-the-fuck does that mean?" Freddie asked angrily, sharing the same glance as the other residents.

"He means, nothing is fixed if you never try. If you lay on your ass all day, then you have done nothing." James explained, breaking his silence.

"You get stabbed? You go to the doctors. The faster you act, the sooner it's fixed. If you leave it for too long, it just gets worse." James finished as he got up from his chair, the room suddenly silent.

"And trust me…now that I think about it. If what I did to that kid bothers you all this much… I'd hate to see your reaction to what happened to me in the Pitt." James stated, his tone now dark and cold.

"So you don't like the way I work? I'll fucking leave again. You all can clean up your own damn mess!" James said as he approached the clinic door.

In a weird way, getting that one story off his chest had made the lone Wanderer feel more comfortable around the crowd. He smiled, as he wondered if Jericho had accidently done something that benefitted him.

"So are there like…. Lots of bad guys after you?" A child asked, appearing from nowhere with two other boys.

"Excuse me?" James asked as he looked down to the boys.

"Well… You're the good guy right? Like captain Cosmo?" he asked James.

James let out a snigger, he had hated Captain Cosmo as a child and now he was being compared to him. Was James the good guy? Or was he just another wastelander that killed for the sake of survival? He liked to think he was a hero, but there was always that voice in his head telling him different.

"Um….yeah I guess so." James answered, as he thought of all the enemies he had faced since leaving.

He had made a lot of enemies in his time out in the wastes, the enclave were just the newest group to have made it to his list. The Talon Company were perhaps the most agitating though, as they stalked him and waited for the right moment to make their move. Unfortunately, what they made up for in tactical ability, they came up short in the practice of killing people. Still, they were not a threat to be taken lightly.

"Aren't you scared? I mean, what would happen if they got to someone you loved?" Another boy asked, James now lost for words.

He had done a pretty shitty job protecting people he had gotten close to so far. Some had died, and others were badly hurt, by the lone Wanderers good intentions'. Though there were people out there that hailed him a hero, the stain of failure still was on his hands.

"They have to get through me first." James responded with a grin.

"What if you're not there?" another child asked.

"My dog will protect them." James answered, not wanting to continue.

"What if I shoot the damn mutt?" Jericho asked, no longer giving a fuck.

"You find me a new dog!" James responded as some people around them began to laugh, thinking it a joke.

After a while, Butch approached the Lone wanderer. There was distinctive fear on the face of the former bully, as he approached the Wastelander.

"Something to say to me butch?" James asked as he looked at his former bully.

"Um… Yeah man… Listen..." Butch started, as he seemed to have trouble with his words.

"Spit it out DeLoria." James said as he waited for the assumed insulting remark.

"I guess… I deserve that-"

"You guess? You're lucky I didn't shoot you in the skull the minute I saw ya. Hell, Wally got away with less than you and look what I did to him!" James interrupted, releasing some needed aggression on butch.

"I know…Look it was pretty cool of you…Coming back and all, to help us out. And I never really got to thank you for what happened the night you left." Butch explained, the guilt in his voice transferring to James now.

The night James left, he had met a panicked Butch in the hallway. An infestation of Radroachs, proved an excellent distraction to a majority of the security team looking for him. He feared Butch was going to rat him out to security, but Butch wanted help. His mother was in danger and Butch wanted help from the kid who he bullied daily for years. James knew the real reason Butch needed some help, was because he was afraid of bugs. When he was a kid, Butch got stuck in the maintenance room, during a pretty bad roach night. He had trapped himself on top of some boxes, high enough so that the radroachs couldn't reach him. He sat atop the boxes as they leapt in the air snapping at him. He never got over his fear of insects because of that experience.

James helped butch save his mom, but never received a thanks from the drunk mother. However, he was rewarded by Butch with a Tunnel Snake leather jacket. An item of clothing he had tucked away somewhere, in his house in Megaton. He probably would look for it after this whole ordeal was sorted out, and he was home.

"Hey…it's cool man. What are blood brothers for?" James said with a smile, as a look of realisation came over Butch's face.

"That's right Man!" He said with a big smile.

Grabbing James's hand and bringing it to his chest, James was pulled forward by Butch. Butch embraced James in a quick hug, and then gave him a pat on the back. He broke the hug after a few minutes and faced the now uncomfortable Wanderer.

"You chicks wanna get a room?" Jericho said snidely with a chuckle.

"You wanta lose what teeth ya got left, old man?" Butch retorted as Jericho let off an impressed laugh.

"Vaultie's got a mouth…" Jericho said as he walked up to Butch.

"Ya call me that again, and I'm gonna break ya hip." Butch threatened as James burst out in laughter.

"The fucks so funny?" Jericho asked as he and Butch looked at each other.

"Not…Nothing." James said through gasps.

"You guys just remind me of someone…." James said, realising that it was like they were talking to themselves.

"You know what man? Even after that story I'd still go out there..." Butch said, pulling James to one side.

"And?" James asked, as he saw Amata walk into the clinic office.

James was worried about what Amata had thought of the story. Actually, he wondered if she still saw him the same way, and that distracted him from Butch's ramblings. She caught his stare, and waved him to follow her.

"So?" Butch asked, getting James's attention.

"Hmm? What?" James asked as he looked at Butch.

"I heard there were dragons out there... you ever seen one?" Butch asked.

James stared smiling at Butch, and was about ready to laugh when he noticed Butch's serious face. He wasn't joking?

"No…But HEY!..." James paused walking over to Jericho.

"…Why don't you ask Jericho? I got business to take care of." James said rushing into the clinic.

"So… what happened in the Pitt?" Butch asked Jericho, curious about James's statement.

"The fuck if I know… He don't talk about it." Jericho grunted, looking at Butch.

"How about you be a good fucken vaultie, and get me a beer." Jericho sneered at Butch.

Closing the door and shutters behind them, the two former friends were now once again alone. Amata's back was facing James, guiding his attention down to her rear. He smiled as he began to step towards her.

"So….." James said with a smile, as he approached Amata slowly.

"Was that story true?" she bluntly asked turning to Him.

Her suit was unzipped a little at the top, slightly revealing her heaving chest. James couldn't concentrate on that for the moment, as he had to think about what he was going to say to her.

"Yes. Most of it anyway. Something's I had to keep out." James stated truthfully, as he tried to fight his hormonal urge to look at her chest.

"So…how many times have you almost died, out there?" Amata asked in an angered tone.

James inhaled deeply, slowly exhaling as he thought about this. Realising that he had read the signal wrong, and was now about to get a lecture. Like the one she gave him when he snuck into her room through the vents for her 9th birthday. Because she was sick, he wanted to cheer her up and have someone with her.

"Oh my god. You don't know do you?" Amata shouted, as James's expression changed to a smile.

She may not have seen the humour in it, but the Lone Wanderer was rather proud that he had cheated death so many times. It meant that he had actually learnt from Jericho's lessons, as well as his own.

"Are you proud of this?!" Amata said, as tears began forming in her eyes.

"Kinda." James said with a smile, as he wrapped his arm around her waist.

"You're worried about me, aren't ya?" James asked, and pulling her towards him he closed the distance between their two bodies.

"No…" Amata stated, pushing her hands softly against James's chest.

"Why would I be, when you're so clearly capable of handling yourself?" She blurted out in aggression. As she pushed the top of her head against his chest. He could hear her silent sobs.

"Why did you even come back?" she asked, through tears.

Amata wasn't an idiot. She realised that this man was merely the shadow of his former life. The story he told everyone, proved he was capable of killing. And what he did to Wally, proved he was a capable liar and fighter. Her little JJ, wouldn't harm a fly. He got sick in Biology when they were dissecting frogs. Yet, now stood this stranger… A man who wore his face and smile. But, was nothing but a reminder that Amata, would never see JJ again. He was as good as dead.

"For you…" James said, sorrow and confusion in his tone.

"Fuck you James. Don't give me that shit!" Amata yelled, her body acting on its own to get away from the man aggravating her.

Suddenly Amata's hand struck James's face hard, leaving its mark on the side of his face. Amata quickly covered her mouth with the guilty hand, looking surprised at what she had done. James had released her out of surprise, and stumbled towards the door. He turned his face to meet her shocked expression, with an angered glare. Rubbing the side of his face, he found traces of blood on his cheek. Amata must have cut him with her nail as she struck him. Fear embraced Amata quickly.

"I…I…" Amata stammered as the large scarred man approached her.

"I want to tell you something Amata." James grunted as he held his cheek.

"Please don't…" Amata begged, having seen this look in her father's face before.

"There was once this prisoner. He had been sent to what they had called "education". In "education", you were starved, deprived of sleep, tortured, and humiliated for 5 days by the guards. Better and stronger men than him had gone insane and feral at this treatment. If not that, they met a worse faith. There was one man there, who did the impossible and left "education" sane…"James said as Amata now was terrified at the man before her.

"James…I'm sorry!" She pleaded as fear took over.

"He told the guards after his release, something drove him to stay sane. He said that when all his hope had gone, all his will faded, his strength depleted, that one thing kept him from stepping over that line…" He said as he reached out to the cowering girl.

She felt a hand under her chin, forcibly raising her head to the frown of the Lone Wanderer. She wished she never invited the monster before her back to the vault. It was a mistake. She prayed something would save her from the monster.

"Please don't hurt me!" She begged, as tears filled her eyes.

"…You." He said softly, betrayal clear in his expression.

"What?" she asked as the realisation came to her.

"Why would I ever hurt you?" He asked, tears beginning to form in his own eye.

Amata never felt this loved before. After all the hate and anger she expressed towards him, he would not raise a hand to kissed him once again on impulse. Her mind racing with questions. While she wasn't sure if there had been other women since he left, she was certain he loved her more than anyone else. She could change him. She could have her JJ back after all. Nothing, could ruin this moment for either of them. It was perfect.

"You… saved me."

* * *

**Final thoughts- I hope you enjoyed that last part. Rather Proud of it myself. **


	7. Chapter 7

**Authors Note: **

**And this is where shit flys towards the fan. I wonder what will happen in 8? *Wink* Also, for the next two chapters we wont see Amata. But this does explain who the mother we saw earlier was.**

**R&R**

* * *

James and Amata laid naked under their fireproof tarp, that had been kept in the clinic for a "just in case" situation. James's arm was wrapped around the naked woman's body, as her leg rested on top of his own two. Amata's hair was no longer tied back, and now flowed freely downward from her face. James never knew she could look this beautiful. Her hand had been resting on his chest for the longest time, and was now creating circles with her finger on his chest.

"That was amazing…" Amata purred, with a smile of satisfaction on her face.

James smirked, as he felt her index finger tickle his chest. Neither of them had said a word in the last 15 minutes, as it seemed they were content with each other's close embrace. If the Lone Wanderer had a weakness, he would admit that it was probably women. He looked towards her as she looked up at him, her eyes a sparkling shade of brown.

"What happened to you?" She asked softly a smile on her face.

"Can you elaborate?" James chuckled, pulling her body closer to his.

"You used to be this timid, shy, awkward nerd who was always trying to avoid conflict….Now you're..." Amata paused trying to think of the precise word.

"A man? Grognak style!" James interrupted with a smile, flexing his free arm.

"I take it back…Your still a nerd." She joked, giving a chuckle of her own.

Silence came over them again, as they lay on the ground of the clinics office. She returned to making circles on James's chest, fascinated by the patterns his scars had created. She stopped, as she heard a giggle escape his lips.

"Someone's ticklish…" Amata purred once more.

"Maybe a little." James grinned, enjoying that sound more and more.

"Mind if I ask you something?" Amata asked, moving her hair back from her face to behind her ears.

"Yes, but only when there's a full moon." James said in a matter of fact way.

"What?" Amata asked lifting her head up, a confused look on her face.

"What?" James mocked, looking left than right before smiling at Amata's reaction.

"You're such a weirdo!" she laughed slapping his chest.

"Ouch-ha-ha. Not so rough!" James laughed as he lifted his loose hand to his chest.

They both shared a smile.

"Do you mind if I ask about these scars?" She asked him, biting her lower lip in anticipation for an answer.

"We won't know, unless you ask." James smiled, himself nervous about what she was to ask.

"Just pick one and I'll tell you its story." James said, his mind soothed by the loving atmosphere of the office.

"There's so many." Amata stated, her finger forming an imaginary line to connect each scar.

"Yeah but some of them aren't as interesting." James said remembering one that's story literally was 'I fell'.

Amata sat up, lifting the tarp so as to cover her chest in an embarrassed fashion. James put on a pouting expression at this action, before smiling revealing it was a joke. Amata looked down at her lover's body, and attentively looked at each scar that preformed on his skin. She pointed to one on his upper chest that was in the shape of a bird.

"How did you get that one?" She asked her finger pressing down on the scar.

"Oh…Grenade." James said as if it was nothing.

"Sorry… did you say a grenade?" Amata asked puzzled.

"Well. Shrapnel from a grenade's blast." James said to a now curious Amata.

"Me and Jericho ran into some Talon Mercs, a grenade is thrown and unknowingly I shoot the grenade. Jericho called it the Flukiest thing he had ever seen. Piece of shrapnel goes flying into my chest and the rest is history." James explained smiling at Amata.

"And this one?..." Amata asked pointing to a slash that seemed to be burnt around the edge.

"Shiskabob…" James said looking at the wound above his stomach.

"What?" Amata said raising an eyebrow in confusion.

"Oh right…It's a flaming sword." James said remembering that some wasteland terms were lost on Vautlies.

"Now I know your lying." Amata smiled as James lifted his pip-boy and pulled up a picture of a sword on fire.

"Okay. I was wrong." Amata said with a smile.

"Yeah. Well that one was just some asshole who thought he could take me out." James started as he looked down at his scar.

"Fuck slashes at me, and Jericho blows his head to pieces." James smiled, remembering his amusement at how fast that fight went.

"Okay..." Amata said, feeling a little uneasy about the smile he had telling that story.

"What about this bite mark?" She asked looking at the bite mark on his arm.

"Oh that's from Dogmeat. Back from when me and him first met." James smiled, lifting his arm and analysing the bite scar.

Dogmeat's teeth had really dug into him that day, which was to be expected after what the poor boy had been through.

"Who's Dogmeat? Another friend of yours, like Jericho?" Amata asked, now concerned that there were people out there that would want to eat her.

"No!...Well…" James said, as he thought for a moment.

"No…not like Jericho. Eats like Jericho though." James said laughing at his own joke, bringing Amata more worried about the man she had left outside of the clinic.

"Dogmeat's my dog." James said, a smile crossing his lips.

"You have a dog?!" Amata said, excitement in her tone.

Amata had never seen a real dog before. She had only seen dogs in the picture books that vault tec provided vault 101, and never thought she would see one in real life.

"Where is he now?" Amata said smiling in excitement at the thought of seeing a real dog.

"He's waiting outside the vault door." James said stretching.

"Isn't that dangerous?" Amata asked concerned for the poor animal.

"Nah the pooch can fend for himself." James answered, recalling a time Dogmeat killed a supermutant without help.

"We better get back out there." James said with a smile, hating himself for ruining the moment.

"Aww why?" Amata said in a cute pout.

"Well. People will start to talk..." James stated, before he was cut off by Amata.

"Oh forget them!" Amata said, interrupting James.

"…And, it may shock you to know, Jericho doesn't like waiting around with his quote 'thumb up his ass'." James said, bringing a disappointed look to Amata.

"Your right. It's about time to get to work." Amata said standing up.

James got up after her, and watched as Amata put her clothes on. It was not lost on him that this could be classified as perverse in the eyes of some, and yet he didn't give a fuck. He began to put his own clothes on as Amata tied her hair back up. Zipping up his suit, the two opened the door to the clinic and met the glare of a vault security officer.

The officer swung his baton at James in an attempt to knock the Lone Wanderer out, but the officers' actions were to no avail. James's hand tightened around the baton, having grabbed it before it connected with his skull. James's hand twisted the baton, as he looked at the man behind the visor, who was now gritting his teeth at the Lone Wanderer. Instantly James recognised the man before him. Simultaneously, the man behind the helmet recognised the young scarred man.

"Officer Kendall. What a pleasure it is to see you again." James stated in contempt, remembering that Kendall was the man who had not only killed Jonas, but beat Amata.

James now remembered an added bonus to coming back to the vault. Something that Amata had almost driven from his mind, with her loving embrace. He had the opportunity for payback.

"How longs it been?" James asked gripping the baton.

"A year and a half right? My how the time fly's." James grinned manically as he spoke.

Kendall threw a punch at James and connecting with the young man's face, sent James back a few steps. Kendall stood his ground and stared as James collected himself. His legs spread and left hand in a fist, James wiped his mouth and saw there was blood. He laughed in a crazed fashion.

"Thank you sir…May I have another?" James asked, a crazed look in his eyes.

"Both of you stop!" She shouted, snapping James out of his temporal rage filled lunacy.

James breathed heavily as he stared at Kendall, the man who killed his father's best friend and beat Amata. James wondered where Jericho and Butch were. He now had two big problems. A pissed off Vault officer and a drunk pissed off Raider.

"You should have stayed out of the vault!" Kendall barked, as Amata stood between the two men.

"Officer Kendall! What are you here for!?" Amata asked, as James glared at Kendall.

"Amata….Your father wants to talk to you…" He explained, before shooting James, his own hate filled glare.

"PRIVATELY!" He shouted, looking specifically at James.

"Okay. I am to assume, there is an escort outside waiting for me?" Amata asked, as her tone changed from playful smart girl, to stern leader.

James then realised that he was not the only one of the two putting on an old face for the other. Amata acted like her old self around James, despite having matured into a strong confident leader in his absence. James was proud to say he was Amata's friend, having witnessing her complete control and dominance of the situation.

"Yes. Officer Wilkes is outside waiting for you." Officer Kendall nodded as he confirmed Amata's assumption.

"Very well. Mr Cole. We will continue this conversation later." Amata said in a very athoritive business-like tone to James.

At this moment, the Lone Wanderer felt torn between his hatred for Kendall, his shock at Amata's personality change, his concern of the purpose of this meeting, and his confusion on whether it was okay to be turned on by her new tone or not.

"President Eden's got some stiff competition." James said to himself, before laughing at the phrasing he used and his prior thought, gaining the attention of everyone else in the room.

Ignoring his outburst, Amata became the centre of everyone's attention as she silently walked out of the room. James was left alone with Officer Kendall, and a community of people who he was sure did not trust him. James pulled out a bottle cap and flipped it into the air and looked at the result. Sighing, he leaned against the wall and sunk to the ground. Kendall was still glaring at James, watching his every move and action, as if he were some form of mad man. He wasn't far from the truth. Lighting a cigarette, James began to smoke as he stared into the distance. He had begun smoking sometime after his father's death, and used it as either a coping mechanism or a crutch. It was usually done so he could relax quickly.

"So am I your prisoner or something?" James asked, as he stared at his feet.

"You're damn right you're my prisoner! You little shit." Kendall barked as James glared at him.

"See…I don't like that." James responded.

He wasn't going to be a prisoner again. He never wanted to re-live those days in the Pitt, even if it was only a slight reminder of the horrors he had faced. He hated the idea of slaves, prisoners, or even interrogation as a result of those horrors. He was broken, and he would gladly admit it. Now, he wanted to test how broken Kendall was.

"How did it feel Kendall?" James asked as he exhaled smoke.

"How did what feel? "Kendall asked looking down at the smoking youth.

"How did it feel slapping around a girl the same age as your daughter?" James asked blankly, holding back as much anger as possible.

"Must made you feel like a real man huh?" James stated as he exhaled more smoke.

James was met with a deep hated glare from Officer Kendall, as people around them began to whisper. Questioning whether this was true or not.

"What kind of a question is that?!" Kendall asked, not comfortable with answering the Lone Wanderer.

"Your right…Better question." James said with a small grin.

"How did killing Jonas feel? You sleep much remembering you killed the only other man capable of saving this place? I mean he was next in line for chief medical officer, right? Which kinda means everyone's death since then falls on…"

"Shut your mouth!" Kendall interrupted as he drew his pistol on James.

James removed the cigarette from his lips, and smiling puffed smoke into the air. James began to snigger, and then burst into laughter to the horror of Officer Kendall.

"You're one sick dog, kid!" He shouted as he prepared to pull the trigger.

"Your one to talk about being a dog! You're perhaps the biggest bitch I know!" James laughed, continuing to unnerve Officer Kendall.

"I swear to god I'll shoot you!" Kendall warned, as James suddenly stopped laughing.

"Oh I have no doubt you will! But see…" James paused, as Officer Kendall felt something push against his back.

"…so will he." James warned as Jericho Pressed the shotgun into Kendall's back.

"Kid! What the fuck is it with you and me having to come to your fucken rescue?" Jericho asked as Officer Kendall dropped his pistol.

"You losin your touch or something?" Jericho asked with a grin.

"Fuck you, Old man." James barked as he bent down to the dropped pistol.

Picking up the 10mm, James now had two guns with limited ammo at his disposal. And taking aim, he pointed the officer's gun at its owners head.

"So…about what ya owe me now…" Jericho said, his fuck you grin in full effect.

"Yeah, Yeah, Yeah. We can talk about how much I owe you for this later, after a few drinks." James said, holding up the officer.

"Deal." Jericho smiled, as Butch came into view.

"Jericho…I told you about the security guard I wanted you to meet right?" James asked grinning at Jericho.

"This him?" Jericho asked, to a nod of agreement.

"Heard a lot about you man… Sounded like me and you coulda been friends. See, I like killing nerds too! Too bad ya didn't wait ya turn." Jericho said, in his twisted sense of humour.

Kendall did nothing. He stood his ground, with the same cold expression he was famous for.

"I'll give him this… At least he ain't pissing himself and beggin for mercy, like the last guy with did this trick to." Jericho said, slightly impressed at the vaultie.

"Hear that Kendall? You're braver than a drug fuelled raider. Should be proud." James mocked, as he patted Kendall on the shoulder.

"Make peace with your God, if you have one. Because I'm sending you to him in pieces." James said smiling, as he pulled back the hammer on Kendall's gun.

"NOOOOOOOO!" shouted a young woman from the crowd, and pushed James's arm away from the officer's head.

Now standing between James and Officer Kendall, was his daughter Christine Kendall holding something in both arms. In her arms, was a small child, which James hoped was her sibling.

"Don't kill him!"


	8. Chapter 8

**Authors Note: First off. Yes its late, and I am sorry. Second, Its late because of college and the amount of rewrites I had to do because it was too awful what I was doing to certain characters that maybe didn't deserve it that bad.**

**So good news, Bad News time. **

**Bad News- College Exams are on the Horizon and as a result I am not sure how much I'll be writing till they are over. This does not mean this is dead in the water. I will be spending a lot of time coming up with ideas for this and working on them. **

**Good News- This depicts awful things happening to Officer Kendall, and depending on my mood more will come to other officers whom I never liked in Vault 101. **

**Sorry for how late this is by the way. But thanks to college I am short on time these days. Promise you some good Jericho and James moments to come. **

* * *

The Lone Wanderer's hand stayed steady as the only thing that stood between him and justice, was a woman holding a child.

"Get the fuck out of my way Christine!" James barked, having no problem with killing Christine to get to Kendall.

"Please…Don't kill my father!" Christine Kendall begged James, as the baby awoke.

The child began to cry loudly. Christine lifted it up to her shoulder, and softly bounced it rubbing its back. James's pistol remained trained on the young woman blocking her father. Jericho wasn't about to fire into the guys back, until the Lone Wanderer got out of the way.

"Your father….killed a man, made life for me hell, and beat your friend for information she didn't know." James said coldly staring at the now frightened Christine Kendall.

"He deserves this! He deserves to answer for what he's done!" James continued, speaking through gritted teeth.

"Give me one reason….One fucking reason…Why I shouldn't kill this mother-fucker!?" James asked preparing to kill the Kendall's.

"He's all I have left!" Christine cried out, James staring at her with a cold expression.

""Mom and little Monica got caught in the fires. I tried to get them out, I really did, but it was just too hot." Christine sobbed as the child finally stopped crying.

James's mind suddenly reminded him of his own father's death, and the man who forced James Sr hand to commit suicide. James knew what it was like to lose the last piece of family he had, and swore he would never become the monster Colonel Autumn was. However, here he was about to kill another's father for his own selfish reasons. James Sr. made the choice to save his son and the other scientists. The Lone Wanderer was about to kill out of anger and not necessity. The Lone Wanderer lowered his gun, as a thought came to his mind.

"I won't kill him…If you answer me a question." James asked, as a look of disgust was clear on Jericho's face.

"Wha…What?" Christine asked, through her tears.

"That's your kid, isn't it?" James asked, hoping he wasn't right in his assumption.

"Yes…" She said defeated.

"Okay… I won't kill him…" James said as Christine smiled.

"You have to be fucking kidding me!" Jericho barked, as he lowered his shotgun from Kendall's back.

"Jericho, tie the fuckers arms behind his back. We don't want any problems." James ordered, and Jericho began to tie the man's hands together.

Christine handed her child timidly to another woman, and running over to him, she embraced the Lone Wanderer in a hug. Tears flowed from her eyes in joy, having just saved her father's life.

"Thank you!" She sobbed, head pressed into his shoulder.

"Don't thank me yet…"James whispered, as movement appeared from the doorway.

Suddenly, a gunshot echoed through the clinic, and a woman lay dead at the entrance. This was followed by the panicked screams of the remaining vault dwellers. Three or four more shots were fired among screams, and pleas of mercy. And then silence fell after a few loud blast's, from the Wastelanders shotgun.

"SHUT…THE-FUCK…UP!" James roared, as he walked over to the dead man.

Christine's baby was crying loudly once again, wanting its mother's warm embrace. Kicked the dead officer's head so he could look it in the eye. Spitting in the corpse's face, he turned to face the smiling older man. Seconds ago, four men in security armour killed a Janice Wilkins in front of the Vault Dwellers in an attempt to inspire Fear. Unfortunately, they also attempted to kill James and Jericho, which ended badly for the attackers.

"You want to explain something to me Kendall?" James asked, as he approached Kendall.

"People finally gaining some sense around here?" Kendall said, before James's boot connected with his face and a gun was pushed to his temple.

Christine screamed as her father hit the ground. Other vault dwellers held her back, as she tried to save her father for a second time from the Lone Wanderer. James ignored her sobs and begging, as his attention returned to Kendall, who now lay on the ground in pain.

"Your gonna tell me exactly what I wanna hear…Or…else!" James warned, twisting the gun's cold steel mouth against Kendall's head.

Kendall stayed silent, and he glared at the Lone Wanderer in great hatred and bravery. James looked over at Jericho, who was surrounded by the corpses of 3 vault security guards. Jericho had a smile on his face, as he surveyed the carnage he had committed. Reloading his shotgun slowly, he took pride at his work. The kid wasn't playing around anymore, and peaceful or not Jericho was having some fun before it was over.

"Any of the Vaulties hurt, Jericho?" James asked, as he saw one or two vaulties get sick from the sight of the dead.

"Don't think so. All the pansy's seem to be fine." Jericho said as he smirked at James.

"Good..." James responded turning towards Kendall.

"What were your orders?" James asked Kendall calmly, trying to fight the urge to shoot him between the eyes.

"You think I am going to tell you!" He said as he began to laugh loudly, quickly silenced by a bullet.

Officer Kendal screamed in pain on the ground, his leg now bearing a large bullet wound. Blood began to pour from the wound, creating a puddle on the ground.

"I warned you…" James said coldly as he turned to face the vaulties.

Lighting another cigarette, James took a deep suck on the smoke and exhaled grey smoke. It was then that an unpleasant realisation came to him, as the screams of the baby echoed with its mother. Looking down at the man, James wondered how much sadistic pleasure he could take in before he would have to kill Kendall. Hunching down, he pulled the wounded leg closer.

"Let's try an easier question shall we?" James asked, the cigarette hanging from his mouth.

"Who killed Jonas?" James asked calmly, Kendall's face full of rage.

"FUCK YOU!" Kendall shouted, prompting James to stick his thumb into the open wound and twist.

James's thumb twisted into the wound, pushing the bullet deeper into his leg while also widening the hole. Blood poured profusely from the leg, overflowing around James's thumb as it twisted. James's face remained frozen in blank expression, as he exhaled smoke.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH FUCK!" Kendall screamed, before James removed his now blood stained thumb.

"Too hard? Okay. Let's try an easier question." James stated in a condescending tone, Kendall now breathing heavily.

"Who is our great leader?" James asked, pulling his concealed blade out of the seam of his vault suit.

Kendall's eyes widened at the sight of the small sharp blade. It seemed to glimmer in the dim lighting of the vault clinic. With malice intent, James grabbed the face of Officer Kendall and brought it closer to his own. And smiled, as he looked into the eyes of the officer who had caused him so much pain.

"Cat got your tongue, officer?" James asked as he glided the knife over his cheek and neck, before halting it below his septum.

"This can all end if you tell me what I want to know." James said mockingly, as he slowly elevated the blade up the officer's nostril.

"The Overseer!" Kendall barked, calling James's bluff.

With a quick flick of his wrist, the blade sliced through Officer Kendall's nostril with little resistance. A line of blood spat along the wall behind him, before trailing down his face. His screams brought James a sick pleasure, he had not felt in some time now.

"COR-RECT!" James shouted in glee, as blood ran down the side of Kendall's face.

"Now…Whose ready for the quick-fire round!" He shouted with a sadistic smile, as he cocked his gun.

His choice of words receiving shocked gasps, and laughter from a specific Wastelander in the corner.

"You call yourself a hero! How is any of this heroic?" Officer Kendall shouted, as his sights were now on the loaded gun.

"Killing is never heroic!" James stated, as the cigarette hung from his mouth.

"You know that, don't you?" James continued pushing the gun to Kendall's forehead.

"You gotta live with all your choices, and I think I can live with this one." James said with a grin.

"Fuck! You!" Kendall shouted, before James fired the pistol taking off some of Kendall's ear.

Amit's the screams James looked towards Jericho, and the horrified faces of the Vault Dwellers.

"You got one more chance Kendall…" James said, pushing the cigarette into the ground.

James got to his feet, and walked towards the Wastelander by the corpses.

"That's the fucken kid I know!" Jericho said slapping James on the back, as Butch made his appearance.

"You…really gave it to him…"Butch said shocked at James's actions.

"…He doesn't know anything Jericho." James responded, with a guilty tone.

Would Kendall put his daughter and grandchild at risk just to take out a few rebels? James wondered as he looked over at the officer. Was he capable of such madness, cruelty and evil? Or was this the act of someone else? The Overseer perhaps. That was more probable. Now that Amata was out of the room, this would be the perfect opportunity to take out the rebels. The Overseer was more responsible for all James's hate and anger, than Kendall ever was. Since he was a fucking child, James could not remember a moment where the Overseer was ever nice to him. Kendall did his duty as an officer, none could ask him for anything more. The Overseer was responsible for all the vault dwellers, and he singled out James and his father for years just because they were outsiders? He was going to answer all of the Lone Wanderer's questions, and would be the one to pay for Kendall's crimes, as well as his own.

"Listen kid..." Jericho started, gaining the Lone Wanderers attention.

"This little Vaultie has a great idea, about how to solve all your problems!" Jericho stated, slapping butch on the back.

"Really?" James said bewildered at the thought of Butch having a good idea.

"Let's hear it!"

* * *

**Oh my! Butch has an Idea? I wonder what that could be? *Wink+Wink***

**Private note: I am looking for a someone who is willing to read my stories before I submit them. If interested mail me.**


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